Tag - defense

 
 

DEFENSE

COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 2, 2017
'Allies First' would be the right approach for Trump in Asia
Trump may emphasize 'America First' and disagree with Abe and Moon over how to reduce bilateral trade deficits, but he should not do so on North Korean threats.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 29, 2017
Japan's defense chief warns of possible provocation by North Korea on Oct. 10
Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera urged caution on Friday as further provocation from North Korea is anticipated on Oct. 10, when the start of Lower House election coincides with one of the North's main anniversaries.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 28, 2017
China says it wants closer ties with Singapore, but Taiwan may be a sticking point
China wants to improve its military relationship with Singapore, but is resolutely opposed to any country having defense ties with self-ruled Taiwan, China's Defence Ministry said on Thursday, obliquely criticizing Singapore's Taiwan links.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Sep 23, 2017
In Japan under Shinzo Abe, more power to the PM, but to what end?
In his final Counterpoint column, Jeff Kingston considers where Japan is heading under scandal-hit Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 20, 2017
LDP struggles to reach consensus on Article 9 revision ahead of snap election
Senior lawmakers of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party agreed on Wednesday that while the party may include constitutional revision as an official campaign pledge in the upcoming Lower House election, it will not specify details on how it plans to revise the war-renouncing Article 9, three party executives...
EDITORIALS
Sep 1, 2017
Defense spending requests need close scrutiny
The threat of North Korea's ballistic missile and nuclear weapons programs should not be an excuse for an unchecked expansion in defense spending.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 31, 2017
Defense spending set to reach a record, as ministry seeks anti-missile measures in budget request
The Defense Ministry on Thursday requested a record-high budget of ¥5.26 trillion for fiscal 2018, underscoring heightened concern over what Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called the "unprecedented" and "grave" security threat posed by North Korea's military provocations.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 30, 2017
Japan seeks powerful new U.S. missile radar as North Korea threat grows: sources
Tokyo is worried that Washington's reluctance to arm Japan with a new advanced radar could make the U.S. missile defense system the government plans to install much less capable of countering North Korea's growing threat, three sources said.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Aug 28, 2017
Tech, budgetary limits dog Japan's military goals with U.S.
As urged by U.S. President Donald Trump, Japan is accelerating efforts to beef up its defenses against North Korea, but Tokyo is likely to encounter technological and budgetary limits when expanding its role in the bilateral security alliance.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 11, 2017
Japan said to offer chopper parts to Philippines as counter to China
Japan will use spare helicopter parts to curry favor with the Philippines as China continues to aggressively press its claims in the South China Sea.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 29, 2017
Strategic approach: Washington's shifting nuclear policy in the Asia-Pacific region is putting Japan in a difficult position
A global ban on nuclear weapons was approved earlier this month at the U.N. headquarters in New York. A total of 122 countries signed the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. None of the signatories, however, possesses a nuclear bomb.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 21, 2017
Inada resists calls to resign over alleged SDF activity log cover-up
Defense chief Tomomi Inada denies participating in the alleged GSDF log coverup, clinging to her position ahead of a Cabinet reshuffle in which she is widely expected to exit.
ASIA PACIFIC
May 31, 2017
Mattis to focus on North Korea at Asian forum as allies seek clear U.S. policy
U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis is expected to press for greater cooperation to contain North Korea's nuclear and missile threat at a regional security forum in Singapore later this week, where for years Washington has sought to spotlight China's expansion in the strategic South China Sea.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
May 23, 2017
U.S. and Japanese firms collaborating on new missile defense radar, sources say
Raytheon and Lockheed Martin are working with Japanese partners on rival projects, government and defense industry sources in Tokyo said.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
May 18, 2017
Pacific Command chief visits Yonaguni radar outpost, reasserts freedom of navigation in South China Sea
The head of the U.S. Pacific Command has visited for the first time a key Ground Self-Defense Force listening post just 150 km (90 miles) south of the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 13, 2017
Japan favors Aegis Ashore over THAAD to bolster missile defenses: sources
Japan is leaning toward choosing the Aegis Ashore missile-defense system over another advanced system called Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD), government and ruling party sources have said.
JAPAN / Politics
May 8, 2017
Japan's defense-only posture to 'basically' remain unchanged under proposed constitutional change, Suga says
Japan's security policies, including its defensive posture, would 'basically remain the same' if the Constitution is revised as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe proposed last week, claims Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga.
EDITORIALS
Apr 19, 2017
Japan and the ability to strike enemy bases
A pre-emptive strike would not destroy all enemy missiles, meaning Japan would then face fierce retaliation.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Apr 19, 2017
The grand fiction called missile defense
Japan's vulnerability to an attack by multiple North Korean missiles is leading the government to consider developing a preemptive strike capability.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 18, 2017
Japanese troops withdrawing from South Sudan mission: U.N.
Japan on Monday started withdrawing its troops from a U.N. mission in war battered South Sudan, according to an official, a move coinciding with escalating violence in a conflict where killings have been described as genocide.

Longform

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past